Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Christmas Season 2007 (with lots of pictures!)

What an awesome Christmas! I told Andrew last night that I wish Christmas were every day without the presents just so I could spend all day, every day with my family--cooking, laughing, telling stories, playing games. Why does it last for such a short period? We had a lot of fun this holiday season, but we have some negative things as well. On Christmas Eve morning we found out my grandmother's brother (my great uncle) passed away of a massive heart attack that morning. This is the same grandmother who recently lost another brother, her husband, and her sister. It was tough news to hear. Several of us (including me!) had a terrible cough/throat bug that kept me red faced and hacking the entire week. Yuck! We all persevered though and had a great Christmas regardless. I managed to take over 300 pictures. Wow!

Andrew's mom came on Friday (my birthday!) and we opened birthday gifts (an awesome scrapbooked recipe book and a pregnant willow tree angel from Andrew--so thoughtful!). Then, we met my parents for a steak dinner in Southaven. Yum! We went shopping for a while and made it just in time to pick up Kacie and Judd from the airport. They were so glad to be home. The same couldn't be said for their luggage. It was going to have to be mailed to them. No so fun. We spent the rest of the night laughing, talking, and returning their sweet dog. Oakley was so glad to see Kacie he jumped super high and she caught him in mid air. True love reunited again.Saturday we shopped, ate Christmas dinner, opened presents with Ms. Debbie, went and looked at Christmas lights, and watched a movie until we all fell asleep.(Andrew in his new camo hat and fleece)

(Me with one of 3 new maternity shirts!)

All THREE of us :)

Sunday I headed down to Senatobia to spend the night with mom while Andrew and dad hunted. I got to see Anna for a while before she went out on a "hot date." She made the cutest sign for the baby's room! I'm telling you--we gotta get this room started. We've got gifts rolling in at only 10 weeks! ;) (Side note: unsaid gender baby also received 2 synthetic fur coats this weekend, just in case it's a girl--lol. Thanks, mom!) It was nice to hang out with mom on Sunday night. We don't get much time to ourselves! It reminded me just how much I love her!

Monday we got ready for the day--cooking, cleaning, wrapping last minute gifts. Kacie and Judd arrived--yay! They are really enjoying married life! They look so happy! We ate our traditional meal--fried fish, french fries/baked potatoes, hush puppies, coleslaw, sweet tea, and banana pudding. It was delicious! Next--present opening!! Our favorite part! Everyone got so many awesome things--definitely more than any of us needed. Judd and Kacie opened their Santa Claus gifts Monday night since they needed to head out before dawn on Tuesday.

I don't remember what they were pretending to be sad about, but it was cute. :)

My mom as a flapper!

Mamaw Betty & I

My new crazy brother

My dad got really tickled over these pants.... :)

This time next year, there will be 3 in our family!My mom's first set of nice dishes--ever.

A rare moment caught on camera

My parents love each other. They're such a great example. :)

Tuesday morning Andrew & I woke up around 9:30 a.m. to the smell of sausage balls. They were delish! Mom & Dad were more excited about opening Santa's gifts than we were! We all opened gifts and listened to Christmas music. Dad even withheld turning on a deer hunting show until after presents this year! ;) *Love you, Dad!* We had a great time, but really missed having Kacie & Judd there. It was the first Christmas I hadn't spent with Kacie in 21 years!Me, sans make up and hair fixing...He couldn't believe his gloves!

Is that all?

Explaining how his new miter saw works

Dad lining up his gifts

Mom & I cooked food for lunch and headed to Aunt Rita's to see all the family. We ate wonderful food and played dirty santa--so fun! When I got back to mom & dad's to pack up, she was already taking the tree down! She couldn't wait to get her house back in order after the wedding and Christmas. Can't really say I blame her. We headed home, unpacked, ate dinner, and fell asleep on the couch.

Today is the worst day of the year. It's the day after the best day of the year, and it signifies Christmas is officially over. It's time to take down decorations, trees, and all the festive items to make our houses back to blah. Although it IS nice to see my floor again now that the presents are gone, the living room will feel bare when the tree comes down. Guess it just means it's time to start decorating for spring early! ;)

Hope you all had a VERY merry Christmas! May God bless us all with health and His blessings in the upcoming year! We love you!